Mind Perspectives
by Robin Wingster
Summary: After a stressful streak of days, Dick finds himself calling Cass when both adopted siblings end-up staying in Gotham with specific ventures in mind, unfortunately Cass makes different of the situation. Prompt: Cassandra and Dick have some sister-brother bonding, but each has their own ideas about what that means.


**_Author's Notes:  
_**_This is basically for Abbyromana, who was my the recipient for LiveJournal's Secret Batfamily Exchange of December 2012. Hope she enjoyed it. Had to add some characters that aren't from the Comics in order to fit the prompt, and had such a blast that I might consider adding more to it in the future. For now, it's just a One-Shot, enjoy.  
_

**_Summary_: **After a stressful streak of days, Dick finds himself calling Cass when both adopted siblings end-up staying in Gotham with specific ventures in mind, unfortunately Cass makes different of the situation.

_**Prompt:** Cassandra and Dick have some sister-brother bonding, but each has their own ideas about what that means._

_**Warnings: **Mild Cursing, very slight sexual inferences._

_Words: 6,613. Edited: Wednesday January 2nd, 2013._

* * *

_**Mind Perspectives**_

_By Robin Wingster_

It had been one hell of an exhausting week.

Be it in any form or manner whether he was playing the civilian, police officer, or night vigilante, as soon as he felt himself relaxing from dealing with a highly-unlikely irritable scenario, some thing or another came-up immediately to bite him right in his royal behind.

The young man sighed tiredly while being perched gracefully above a gargoyle far up from the ground on a prestigious building, overlooking the city lights that engulfed the great City of Gotham with something akin to nostalgia and weariness.

It wasn't like he was unaccustomed to having a hard expanse of days. Dick basically had an established relationship with the stress his peculiar lifestyle demanded, but there was only so much he could withstand. What actually had made it all the more troublesome—never mind the countless times he'd also done it—was that every single time, it had involved him dealing directly with idiots.

Impossible situations he could deal with. Hell, Batman _trained_ him to deal with them since he was eight! But having to tolerate meddlesome plain-_stupid _people getting in his way and turning the situation for the worse instead of _getting out of the way _was another thing entirely.

From sheer annoyance at having to share some words with the constructors that were making some new Apartment Complex right next to his for the past month or so regarding the damage of two apartments—his and Mr. Barrientos—for some inane 'accident' on their machinery (more like drunk workers handling potentially dangerous machines), to an obtrusive FBI man in his late-thirties breathing down his neck in an investigation his Bureau had been in-charge off for the better part of seven months, and Nightwing's nights not enough to quell his anxiousness at some new ring that was searching for minors that acted the part of mules (so far he'd closed half the wastelands they hired people and got hold of fifty-eight meats that had been mostly released, even with enough evidence to send them away), Dick had been close to the point of plain-out forcing things his way.

He'd even humored himself on the crazy thought of calling Jason to personally take care of those scumbags on more than one occasion to avoid becoming mad (and he was sure the Red Vigilante wouldn't have objected to the call), quickly dissipating his dilly-dallying once he'd regained some semblance of clarity amid his troubled psyche. The Roma was just used to take care of the problems of his city by his own (something that would remain like that if he had his way), and avoid as much useless deaths as possible in the process. That, however didn't meant he'd refuse a hand if offered from any of his other family members, nor ask for small favors once in a while. Dick had made it a point to also include Tim in some data decryption, since he was too busy dislodging himself from his new shadow combined with the incoming lawsuit him and Mr. Barrientos were handing to the Construction Company, and even had talked briefly with Damian once on one of his patrols, when the ten-year old wanted nothing but to rant how boring the past nights had become at Gotham, including a briefly annoyed mention of Cass helping their father in some affair he wasn't allowed to take part of, which lead him on calling his foster sister to convey his best wishes with dealing with the youngest Wayne, so that had helped to ensure his sanity.

All along, his main problem was in the form of one FBI SAIC (1) T. Brady insisting on keeping tabs on every single step Dick took—double checking his reports, questioning his every move, even going to the extent of _following_ him to his place one time before he got fed-up and dismissed the Federal Agent with a finality that would've made Bruce swell with condescending pride—or at least that would've been the case had they not tied the investigation to Gotham when Nightwing managed to connect the dots on the Mob group they've been following, with the SAIC Brady _casually _nearby the packed corridors of the subway, and managing to place civilians in danger in a very unlikely twist of events that involved guns, escrima sticks, and two dead civilians, ultimately leaving the night-vigilante with the choice of either saving the dozen innocent people trapped (including incompetently _stupid _SAIC T. Brady) with Harvey Dent's army of expendable goons, _or_ racing towards Gotham's Inmate before he got away with the end of their Investigation.

Dick grunted as he massaged the bridge of his nose in remaining annoyance.

Seven months.

Seven _months._

_Seven months _filled with questioning, investigating, deciphering, running, reaching loose ends, fighting,-bleeding to get to the _one piece_ of evidence that not only declared Harvey as the culprit and Mastermind, but _also_ allowed them to incarcerate the Crime Lord in the one _slip _he'd made.

Two Face wasn't prone to slips—wasn't prone to slips _outside _of Gotham; the man was rarely even outside of Gotham that often as it was case.

And in less than five minutes, this one _stupid _man had managed to throw to the drain everything him and his team at Blüdhaven's Police Department had worked for with an impossibly ridiculous chain of events.

The former acrobat hadn't had the time to slow down the speedometer for a short break. If it wasn't for some absurd situation it was for another, which ultimately affected his Nightwing performance too. For the better part of the week Dick had felt the urge to simply yank his hair out in exasperation out of the one-thousand times he'd just ran a hand through his scalp to deal with the mind-boggling frustration.

After having clean-up duty caused by the reason of his irritation, the circus boy had managed to salvage (somewhat) the Case with his quick thinking, resulting on him being transferred to Gotham to help the GCPD (2) with their findings on Harvey's recent Criminal Record.

That had _also _afforded him a very… 'interesting' chat with Bruce, who said he and Cass had been following the same case from some months back, and had been waiting for him to round things-up once Two Face had fled from Gotham to his Ugly-twin sister—something that he obviously failed at doing, and had Bruce frowning him up instead.

So, basically, after some self-berating amongst another things, the original Dynamic Duo had reached an agreement, and shortly afterwards, dealt with the combined File, putting an end to it with Harvey on Arkham again (_'Most security enhanced building on Gotham my royal ass,'_), the ring and its members incarcerated or on probation depending on their felonies, and with that, the end of the thunderstorm SAIC T. Brady in his life.

Now, fresh out of the stress that rounded-up his existence for the past days, and the exhilaration from the recent fight slowly leaving his system, he was left with the exhaustion he'd been pushing away to complete the mission; his body angled effortlessly on his post, breathing-in the early morning polluted-air as he waited for his new companion to appear.

Dick figured she wouldn't take much more—having been patrolling with Damian on other Districts since neither one had been involved in his (and Bruce's) matter with Harvey—and managed a fatigued smile at the thought of his sister.

Lately, their interactions as a whole had become increasingly better, and during the past week, he'd shared some words with the woman regarding Damian, figuring she could use the encouragement. But now with the menace over, he'd had another set of reasons altogether, given Black Bat wasn't home that often—and neither was he—he wanted to share some quality time with the young woman before both of them were back to their respective places; what better way than an impromptu meeting after a hard-accomplishing night to have the best home-made meal at the only Diner that was relatively safe in Gotham at this hour?

His smile stretched, getting past the aching muscles from the fond remembrances he had on the humble establishment with nearly every member of his family minus the girl in question and Steph (he also made plans to take the blonde woman once both had a chance to, hopefully soon enough) it was already considered a tradition as it was, and a great way to begin a new day, since technically it was the tomorrow of the yesterday by now.

The carnie heard the nearly soundless steps that landed behind him; a sudden surge of energy encompassing his lean form at his prospects for the night.

"I'm here." Black Bat spoke in that silent tone of hers that danced like a leaf on autumn gusts of air. "Sorry, Damian was…persistent." She continued, and Nightwing turned his frame to face her, motioning for the woman to join him at his side on the stone protector and dismissing her apology with his easy-going smile.

"No biggie, don't worry. He's quite the charming little ball of enthusiasm huh?" He made light of the rather difficult kid that had fallen on their midst and taken the spot of 'baby brother' on Dick's mind despite said boy's humoring refusal to be considered such. Then his smile became serene once Cass had perched herself on his left on the Gargoyles' back while he remained on the head. "He'll grow on you, so don't take whatever he might've implied too close to the chest."

For one second he saw the meaning of his words connect on her calm features, after which she nodded emphatically.

If anyone, Cass was the best to understand Damian's situation to a point; Assassins' background and all.

"What's our aim?" She asked and he signaled back to the city below them to a dead-end alley at eleven o'clock.

"We'll change there—you brought your civvies, right?" Nightwing asked, all business back in his voice like a second nature and his sister nodded, making him hum in satisfaction. "After that, just follow my lead. It's a Diner a couple of blocks away on the other side of the street, but the alley's the best place to change over all this section of the District." He grinned back at her, getting a little smile out from her in the process. "When we're done we can just take the roofs on the same place to make our way back or take the subway to the Wayne Tower and get a car for the Mansion."

The raven-haired woman nodded and Dick felt the ever-familiar tickling sensation from the base of his spine that enveloped every nerve of his body in anticipation to the fall he was going to take, already thirsty at the feeling of falling only to grapple his way up, fly and repeat the process.

"Let's go." And with that, he fell into oblivion, where nothing else but the embracing explosion of falling and flying existed. Black Bat close on his heel who only viewed his displays that broke gravity with something akin to enjoyment. Already the past dealings forgotten.

The night just kept getting better.

* * *

Once changed they walked the streets with a tranquil pace in a comfortable silence; the chilly air of autumn barely restricting the high spirits Dick had quickly embraced as he shared warm glances every now and then to signal his sister where they were headed. It wasn't hard to pinpoint the place, nor acutely necessary for him to keep-on guiding the petite woman but for the bare reason of wanting to; the luminescent sign that was missing the blue light on four out of the seven letters of "A's DINER" enough to locate the small restaurant from their spot high on top of the building as it was.

"After you," Dick said smiling in anticipation at finally having this bonding with his sister, holding open the door as she made her way in with a quick thanks and that Mona Lisa smile she had no idea she had, "where do you wanna sit?"

Cass looked at him carefully before sweeping the whole establishment a calculating once-over for a second time (he knew she'd already scanned the place just as she was entering, the training embedded in them just obliged you to do so), sending him an inquisitive glance in return.

That made him curious, but he waited patiently, wanting the woman to feel at ease from the very beginning of—with a bit of luck—a new set of recurrent visits whenever they had some time in their schedules. However, after she appeared almost troubled with the decision on the many options available he decided to help her a little, figuring maybe she hadn't had a chance to visit one of this type of Diner's before.

"I usually sit by that Booth on the left corner; has the advantage of a window and is far enough from the bathroom." He added, watching the woman nod kindly in return at his suggestion as she made her way to the place.

"Good choice." Cass said once he regained her step, taking the place on the red booth that was lined with the wall while he seated himself in front of her. One of the two waitresses that ran the place had noticed them right from the beginning and was now approaching them with some outdated menu's that had several pieces of tape over most of the meals' prices with scribbled new ones.

"The place isn't nearly as packed as it is normally at this hour, but trust me, once the patrons are in need of a potty-break you'll be glad you aren't anywhere near the stalls." Dick told her, enjoying the briefly confusing stare she gave in return at his humor, knowing she was had been making sense of it before smiling right back once she made it.

"Oi Richard, good to see you—been some time," Raquel, a raven-haired waitress on her mid-twenties approached him with an infectious grin despite the bags under her chestnut eyes, eyeing friendly at his sister as she offered her the same treatment, "hi! My name's Raquel, I'll be your waitress for this loving evening, Miss., what's your name—if I may ask of course." The newest waitress by a couple of years asked and Dick noted with satisfaction how Cass was quick to avoid labeling the friendly girl as an enemy.

"Cass," his sister told her, and the amicable—if sometimes strange—woman wearing a purple uniform nodded in approval.

"Anything I can offer you Cass? Maybe something to drink? I'm just assuming Richard would like some freshly brewed coffee, even if he doesn't, would you like some too?"

Cass glanced at him quickly from the corner of her eyes, and he made a motion with his hand, noticing the perky waitress shifting her weight between her feet rather discretely.

'_Rough day then,'_

"We also have other things—if you like lemonades there's this one we make that also has some strawberry, it's very good." She said, signaling on Cass' Menu the last page where only the names of the beverages could be seen. "You could also have some milkshakes—the ones with Oreo or Chocolate are the best ones we have, and—"

"Waitress! What's wrong with you?! I've been waiting for my drink for ten minutes!" One patron that had just arrived screamed angrily at the girl who glared at the man's direction.

"We'll check the menu and tell you in a moment," Dick told the girl as she nodded and went to the other table where the loud customer was making a scene. He narrowed his eyes, checking the place with his blue gaze once anew to find only another set of patrons that were by the bar stools with the other more familiar waitress-in-charge. What he liked of the little decaying place was the staff (and the food). The people running the Diner were a decent family of legal immigrants who were only trying to get-by. It was run by two sisters and a brother, plus their current waitress who was a very close friend of Ana, the middle sister; all in all, they've started young when the establishment was founded by an uncle of the siblings who helped them get to their feet at an early age, and who barely showed his face once the eldest sister became legal. Bruce had gotten word of the Falcone's using the Diner as a meeting place when it opened on his second year on the job, and through it, their conventional relationship with the owners had begun.

On more than one occasion, once the Batman had deducted the illicit activities that occurred weren't part of the owner's consent (and the two underage sisters partially "working" on it weren't being exploited), the Dynamic Duo had taken refuge after an agonizing-night fighting crime to have a meal and some peace together, taking advantage of the meeting spot the criminals were prone to take. That had slowly but surely, evolved on attaching themselves with the young girls who played the waitresses' part to quell the hired-ladies' aching feet whenever they came.

Even Bruce wasn't immune to sharing pleasantries with the now grown-up owners. It had been a deciding point in declaring this Diner as their official boding place.

He was glad he finally brought Cass here, so with renewed determination, he signaled some of the drinks he thought she would like, expressing even Alfred like _some _varieties of tea's they brought him home to indulge her delight on the herb-based drink.

"You come here often." Cass spoke after deciding on a tea of Cinnamon with a touch of milk plus honey, and he nodded.

"It's been here since I was kid, just a couple years after I started hitting the streets." He shared, grinning at the woman who appeared content with his answer. "You can ask for anything to eat—everything's great, that girl over there takes care of the cooking, and always adds many spices that give a great flavor."

Cass nodded, deciding a small dish, and quickly receiving their drinks once Raquel had come-back to ask for them and written their order.

"Was the case closed?" His sister asked, eliciting a mute nod from him, as he delved into some minor explanations that wouldn't raise the attention of the slow patrons. Later Dick questioned her new whereabouts in Hong Kong, asking brief questions of her past days in the Mansion that prompted to Cass referring to one night she went out with Steph, something that brought happiness to her eyes, no doubt cheerful to spend some time with her best friend after a while, to explaining in short words how Damian had probably been hurt from being dismissed from the current task; it made the acrobat glad seeing how in-tune Cassandra was to the boy's thoughts, and while he had made most of the talk himself, a sentiment of peace surrounded him as the minutes went-by. Soon their meals were in front of them both, but Dick saw no obstacle in chatting as he spoke, explaining Cass that Tim and Damian's relationship didn't have to make her wary for both males—they were young and didn't know better for the time being—also picking Jason as an example, remembering she didn't had that much experience with the other older adopted brother.

He was finishing giving-off an amused chuckle at Cass' description of Damian being _'persistent' _when he learned that he had unnamed plans with her, about to explain to her why when the door of the Diner flew open with more force than necessary and the new client followed-by other suspicious looking men, walked inside nearby their booth across from them as if they were the owners.

"Waitress—come take my order!" The leading male ordered arrogantly, and Dick shifted enough to catch an inconspicuous look at them. "Not you—I want the other one!" He howled, his party laughing and making cat-calls at the retreating Raquel who clenched her jaw and went for Ana behind the bar stool.

It didn't take a genius to figure these guys meant trouble; Cassandra shifted on his periphery to catch his attention.

She'd noticed too.

* * *

The men were gone half an hour later, and with them, Dick and Cass made their leave too, leaving a generous tip behind and the Diner in the background, walking the almost deserted streets of the city save for some beggars that roamed around with no destination but to keep themselves moving.

Resisting a sigh, Dick followed the woman who'd taken to the route where they could change into their masked personas. Three a.m. and people were still up to no good.

"Cass—" he'd began to apologize for the rude interruption to their time together, falling short when the woman was already in her full Black Bat gear, taking out her grapple hook while aiming at a flagpole on one of the adjourning buildings, "—what are you doing?"

"I'll get them. You're tired." She explained, one-second away from sending the line waiting for his approval.

"Nah, lead them through King Street, I'll be waiting on Eagle's Avenue."

Black Bat nodded, sending the line that held firmly on the flagpole. Dick had started changing, almost done with the task now that they hadn't a moment to lose.

"… thank you." He heard his sister whisper before shooting away, his domino placed in time to see fully her lithe figure jumping to the window to reach the roof and disappearing in the city.

"Hah," Nightwing exhaled a small laugh, seeing that at least the night hadn't been completely ruined, recalling with new fondness their short time at the Diner when he watched his sister's complete delight at the new tea Raquel handed her, or the smiles they exchanged when he shared how he'd toyed with the thought of Jason taking care of his problem back in the Haven, all before that new mobster had appeared and changed the direction of the night, even when the raven-haired woman hadn't done much of the talking herself, "well," he said to the wind, hoping in some deranged way it would reach her, "there's always a next time." With that he took off in another direction, making a direct cut to reach the appointed place and find a new source to quell his new found irritation at their disturbance.

* * *

At first she had been preoccupied, wondering why Dick would want to meet her after successfully ending the assignment that linked her and her adopted brother with their father figure.

Hong Kong, Gotham City, and Blüdhaven.

Two Face had outdone himself.

Later, when the preoccupation started fading away from her conscious and she started to wrap her things once she and Damian had finished their patrol, she had been questioned about the call's nature. After giving the only explanation she had of Dick summoning her for something unknown, the current Robin who'd been scoffing in disapproval at sharing patrol with her, became more… 'touchy'? Insisting to accompany her to Dick to offer his assistance in the likely case they needed it. The ex-assassin had considered taking him, if not for remembering Dick's request of going alone, something that led a new shining comprehension on Damian's hidden eyes behind the white lenses, making him persistent on going with her.

No later than Cassandra almost accepting the boy who was already telling her the best route with renewed interest and (excitement?), had Batman arrived, sending her off and going with Damian to the Manor with the Batmobile hidden on the grounds underneath them. That had inexplicably made her wary of the real reason behind her brother's odd request, concluding in a minute after recalling the discussion from the morning between their father and her brother on the File in question, that maybe they had another argument, and because the mission was fairly difficult, Batman had left it to Nightwing and Black Bat to conduct his own investigation in the Batcave and leave Robin safe inside the Mansion.

Nodding now that the idea settled and made sense to the sudden request, she quickened her pace to arrive at the rendezvous place.

It had been a long time since she'd shared space with Dick, and she was glad to see it was about to change soon, even when they were still on a job. There was always something that stirred within her when she watched the acrobat move—a fondness that his smile sent her with his easy-going nature and bad temper.

In the distance she saw her appointed destination, her sharp eyes falling on the rigid figure that resembled part of the stone-aged guardians, taking notice of the heavy air enveloping the first Robin the closer she got. She had known by others (hearing Tim or Damian in passing, even getting an earful from his heated discussion with their guardian) how he'd been awfully overworked the last set of days; nonetheless, with the way his countenance radiated waves of anger and fatigue she would have assume it either way.

While the young woman wasn't that in-par with sentiments, the acrobat had never had a problem with expressing how he felt with his body language, and when he did, it was still a short list that would put him in that certain mood. It was for that that she approached with quiet steps.

"I'm here," she said and felt the need to explain her delay that no doubt could have the man tense if their mission wasn't over, "Sorry, Damian was…persistent." And Cass knew her tardiness wasn't going to be a problem at the grin that followed-up while he urged her to take a spot next to him.

"No biggie, don't worry. He's quite the charming little ball of enthusiasm huh? He'll grow on you, so don't take whatever he might've implied too close to the chest." Nightwing explained their brother's behavior, eliciting another set of understanding on her attention; old memories fading into her minds-eye to connect the little ex-Assassin's behaviour, to which she nodded emphatically.

Somehow Dick understanding that she understood too made her light. A feeling of cherish slowly taking reign on her past interactions with the youth.

"What's our aim?" Black Bat decided on asking instead, knowing it was better to focus than getting lost in her ramble of thoughts. Dick then signaled back to a dead-end alley at eleven o'clock, the severity of their job presenting itself on his voice.

"We'll change there—you brought your civvies, right?" The young man asked to which she nodded. She was prepared. "After that, just follow my lead. It's a Diner a couple of blocks away on the other side of the street, but the alley's the best place to change over all this section of the District." Suddenly the man in black and blue grinned, the stretch of his teeth so infectious she smiled a little out of inertia; Dick had that effect on people, and it was one of the reasons Cass admired him. "When we're done we can just take the roofs on the same place to make our way back or take the subway to the Wayne Tower and get a car for the Mansion."

A nod.

"Let's go." And then they went to make their way, all the while Cassandra had kept one step behind to appraise the level of grace the man before her had. All the while enjoying the small chat they had, even if it was only for business.

* * *

Both adopted Wayne's had taken to walking to the falling restaurant Dick had told her from the very beginning, now in their civilian clothing but still without knowing what her assistance consisted off. Their whole walk to the Diner her appointed brother had signaled several times at the dim blue lights that filled the contours of the words "A's DINER", something that made her think she was maybe reading something wrong, or perhaps failing to see something else or another on the humble grounds. A recurrent thought on her way was the mesmerizing tone on the lighted letters that reminded her of her companion's eyes, which led to comfortable warmth at doing a mundane task like walking towards the Diner with the man in question.

She wasn't used to this level of normalcy, and the civies brought-out the possibility of entertaining the thought; it was easy to lose herself in the warm companionship the carnie offered, taking a step aside to open the door for her when they stood at the entry way.

"After you," Dick told her smiling, the contagiousness of his smile spurting her own version of one in exchange, "where do you wanna sit?"

'"_Where do you wanna sit?"' _That brought her attention back in order, her almond eyes inspecting the place in search of the possible exits and dangers the place offered, locating two cameras and the many blind spots it left, along with the bathrooms and few people who sat enjoying their food. Was Dick expecting her to conduct the research in here? If that was the case they needed to grab a spot close-by the people they were going to spy-on, though her instincts demanded she took one of the two far-out corners, where they could take the most advantage from. Not completely sure she stared at him undecided, thinking about asking him his opinion on the matter.

"I usually sit by that Booth on the left corner; has the advantage of a window and is far enough from the bathroom." Dick said, apparently understanding her indecision.

"Good choice." She offered nodding in accordance with his verdict and making their way to the red Booth that had seen better days, taking her place against the wall out of self-preservation.

This was good, it was really comfortable too, and she had a good view of the whole Restaurant.

"The place isn't nearly as packed as it is normally at this hour, but trust me, once the patrons are in need of a potty-break you'll be glad you aren't anywhere near the stalls." Her sibling said in those familiar amicable tones, perplexing her for all of a second for she had been caught eavesdropping on the clients in the bar stool to see if they had anything to do with her and Dick's assignment, then the corners of her lips upturned at the jab made.

"Oi Richard, good to see you—been some time, hi! My name's Raquel, I'll be your waitress for this loving evening, Miss., what's your name—if I may ask of course." A waitress not much older than her approached them with genuine easy, making Cassandra wonder how many times Dick had come here if the young woman knew him by his formal name and chose to use it; probably a contact. She appeared tired, signs of fatigue covering her pale face, but her cheerful soprano reminded her of her dear blonde friend, and she saw kindness in the figure tending to their table straight away.

"Cass," she ventured, now too used to the nickname to give it much importance watching with matching browns the girl move her head in confirmation.

"Anything I can offer you Cass? Maybe something to drink? I'm just assuming Richard would like some freshly brewed coffee, even if he doesn't, would you like some too?" The waitress—Raquel (Spanish name the woman had pronounced perfectly)—asked, glancing with interest at her sibling who made some gesture with his hand while the happy waitress shifted her feet. With those bags she could only assume the girl was worn-out. "We also have other things—if you like lemonades there's this one we make that also has some strawberry, it's very good." The raven offered, pointing at names on her menu that she had a slower time in understanding. "You could also have some milkshakes—the one with Oreo or Chocolate are the best ones we have, and—"

"Waitress! What's wrong with you?! I've been waiting for my drink for ten minutes!" Suddenly a man who she saw enter shortly a minute ago yelled angrily. To her surprise, the happy waitress gave him a fierce look as response, perfectly aware of his lie.

"We'll check the menu and tell you in a moment," Dick intervened, giving the girl he knew the opportunity to go do her job as she did hers and inspected silently the newly packed place, discerning other people by the stools where the only other waitress who looked around the age of theirs was cleaning the stool with a gray rag, looking pointedly expressionless for the time being—but Cass had watched the murderous glare she'd sent to the now calmer man who kept the other woman occupied.

She was definitely someone she'd keep an eye on—maybe that was their contact instead of the happy waitress who called Dick 'Richard'; that young girl looked quiet sharp herself.

Suddenly she was sidetracked out of her musing with Dick offering his knowledge on some of the drinks they offered, taking the place of their host. He surprised her when he mentioned with unspoken certainty she would love the teas, and that Alfred was known to like some of them too.

"You come here often." She said, anxious in her selection of a Cinnamon tea that had milk and honey. The asian woman was also hoping to address their task to take direction of it for she was becoming too distracted in the harmony of normalcy that the Diner was procuring in them.

"It's been here since I was kid, just a couple years after I started hitting the streets." The blue-eyed man confided, making her hum in approval now that the topic was in the right direction. So they used this place for information for years. That was amazing. "You can ask for anything to eat—everything's great, that girl over there takes care of the cooking, and always adds many spices that give a great flavor." He continued, and they chose their meal to wait for their targets or for that other woman behind the counter to approach them with the data they needed, Dick asking the happy waitress for their things.

"Was the case closed?" She asked, wondering where they left off and feeling confused briefly when he nodded slowly, falling into a small explanation. More people had arrived, and even the olive-skinned waitress had left her place behind the counter to help the happy one, so that left their tales to basic codes she didn't had much trouble dealing with anymore. Hong Kong came-up next something that led to her stay in the House, and sharing of her missions that came along with it, first with Stephanie, then with Damian. At her empathy for him, she confessed wondering if he had been hurt from being denied of the mission—that brought some light on the blue eyes staring at her, who kept adding the majority of their talk as they waited and waited.

Cass had smelled their food before it got to the table, and smiled in appreciation at the happy waitress' grin. Eating was no barrier for Dick's chatter to fill the air, keeping their appearance as normal customers, though that didn't made Cass less attentive at having him explain her two younger brothers' tense affiliation, and mentioning Jason too like an example—she had always been curious to her other brother—and drank the information Dick gave her with as much care as she could.

The topic went to their current position, Cass informing him of Robin's persistence to be part of the case in a short sentence, only to elicit an amused chuckle cut-out from movement at the entry door. Her whole frame tensed, ready for what they've been waiting the entire time with the one man leading another group on some normal suits, who made their way inside—their steps lined with aggression.

"Waitress—come take my order! Not you—I want the other one!" The head of them—round man, over forty at least—ordered, the rest of them whistling or howling at Raquel who clenched her jaw but made no move to protest the request, going directly for the waitress who had gone once more behind the bar stool some minutes ago.

Her suspicions on the pretty woman with the ponytail were confirmed, sure she was their source—or theirs—in their job.

She caught Dick's observing eyes by moving on his periphery, sharing the message.

She was ready too.

* * *

The moment the gang left, both Wayne Heirs did too, Dick paying their short meal with more than he needed, with Cass understanding the tip had to be considerable no matter the price. No matter, she guided the way back to the alley he said was secure, now ignoring a tiny sensation on the pit of her stomach that was a little unpleasant.

"Cass—" Dick started, at which point she was almost done, barely adjusting her domino mask—they wouldn't escape, Dick had asked her help in catching them—already done with her grappling hook ready to take a go at the thin tube she found almost on top of the building at their side; that would do good, "—what are you doing?"

"I'll get them. You're tired." Black Bat told him with a new conviction, feeling the need to do this for him instead, waiting for his approval. It was something easily done, she was only considering he was asking her help because he'd been so tired before. Besides, she genuinely wanted to help him; those men had irritated her when they broke their peaceful ambiance, nevermind they were intending to appear eventually.

"Nah, lead them through King Street, I'll be waiting on Eagle's Avenue." Changing himself and missing her nod.

"… thank you." She whispered after a brief moment of hesitation, the warmth on her body coming back again at the admission she was making, taking off before catching his short _"Hah, well, there's always a next time." _that spoke volumes of affection.

Maybe the night had been intended for them to catch a group of mobsters and show her the Diner where the informant waitress worked-in (though she found it hard to find malice in her body language), despite that, she couldn't deny the delight she'd found in spending some casual time with her brother in something akin to a domestic lifestyle. She found herself with the urge to solicit visiting the restaurant one day for a meal instead of their nightly activities, but maybe she was overstepping her boundaries for today. Someday though, she would try it, for that purpose alone her visits to Gotham would have to exist, so it gave her another newly found purpose to consider her options on taking her close companions' opinions in the go of staying more often than not.

Today she would cherish, and if her kicks and punches held a little more deadly accuracy than they usually did, she paid it no mind.

For that matter, Nightwing's attacks had a distinctly sharper undertone to them that meant nothing but wanting to call it a day and rest for his travel to the City with the Cinderella story he'd told her about long ago.

Cassandra could pretend he was upset too for having their good time cut short just this once, feeling rather happy with the notion, and taking care of the gang rather rapidly.

Another day would come.

* * *

(1) Special Agent In Charge. Ranks go as followed: Director, SAIC, and Special Agent.

(2) Gotham City Police Department.


End file.
